This week’s theme
Words with double lives

This week’s words
automania
airhead
monophagy
secular
wonky

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(WONG-kee)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Unreliable; unsteady; not working properly.
2. Concerned with minute details in a field; nerdy.

ETYMOLOGY:

For 1: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal wanky, alteration of wankle, from Old English wancol (unsteady).Earliest documented use: 1919.
For 2: Of uncertain origin, perhaps related to the first term or the term wanky. Earliest documented use: 1978.

USAGE:

“Even in buildings that have light and motion sensors, the technology is notoriously wonky: They can turn off the lights if someone is standing still or working at a computer.”
Erica Langston; Dim-Witted; Mother Jones (San Francisco); Nov/Dec 2016.

“As wonky as they are, the Gateses quickly realized that the social part of the foundation was vital. ... [Melinda] once recounted Bill’s observation: ‘I’m starting to realize that talking to people about tuberculosis at a cocktail party doesn’t go so well.’”
Laura Brown; The Savior in Seattle; Harper’s Bazaar (New York); Sep 2014.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: